the middle knitter

The summer research continues apace! I have been reading lots and lots of things about Dionysus, and about Euripides. In fact, on Tuesday, I realized I hadn't read any plays not by Euripides, a fact which I am remedying by jumping into Aeschylus' Oresteia. I haven't read it since I was a sophomore in highschool, so it's pretty cool . . . I just finished the Agamemnon, and discovered that Cassandra is just as moving for me as she was then.

But you're not here to listen to me talk about the Greeks--you're here for knits! And I have been knitting as well. Last weekend, I unraveled the lime merino sweater and gently blocked the yarn to get the worst of the kinks out.

This stuff is amazing, guys. It's so soft. I'm definitely sold. The sweater was knit at a fairly bulky gauge, with two strands of what I think is sport-weight yarn held together. I'll mostly just be keeping them together, for speed, but last night I separated the strands and started in on Knitty's Broad Street Mittens. On size three needles, this is the finest gauge I have ever knit at, ever. (Remember, I've only been knitting since Christmas.) Part of me is screaming that I'm insane for not picking a bulky, quick-knit, given that the deadline for shipping things to Dulaan is just over a week away. But . . . you know, it's weird, but I need to do this.

So far, I haven't made a single item for Dulaan that I haven't been guilty about for one reason or another. If it's warm enough, it's not attractive, and if it's attractive, it's too scratchy, or it's the wrong size, or . . . whatever. Give me something to latch onto and feel guilty about and I will. So, I want to make something that I can be proud of, so I can look at it and say, I put effort into that, and it's warm, and it will last. I think part of it is that Ryan posted word that F.I.R.E. is in need of items for adults. I know that there's been a dimension of Dulaan from the beginning all about respecting the dignity of the Mongolian people, but I think it really especially applies when knitting for adults. I want these mittens to be something that really represents an investment of time and effort. Not that there's anything at all wrong with tossing off a quick hat or a scarf--I've done it before, and I'll do it again. But . . . just this once, I want to go a little further.

. . . of course, it would help the dignity aspect if the yarn weren't so damnably lime.

My gauge is about half a stitch larger than the recommended gauge, which means the mitten is coming out pretty big . . . either that or I just think it's big because I'm a girl with small hands and I don't spend that much time around men with large hands. Anyway, I hope that there is a man in Mongolia with big hands who needs a convertable mitten and doesn't mind lime green.

(Also, I'm not reading Suetonius right now--it was just sitting on my desk for some reason. I think I got it out to prove a point about the geneology of the Roman emperors to Aud.)

Also up there in the 'guilt' column--I made myself a hat. A winter hat. In June. Right before the deadline for Dulaan. Bad Emma! But, I couldn't make anything for Dulaan until the lime merino finished drying, and that little Peruvian hat I made was so cute . . .

What you're seeing there is me struggling to get a picture of the top of the hat, standing with my back to the mirror, with my camera held up in front of me, and a handheld mirror behind that so I could see the LCD screen of my camera. My kingdom for a flip-out LCD screen! Needless to say, none of the pictures I took quite capture the charm of the hat, so this is what you get.

Incidentally, this hat was my first time ever doing colorwork, and I think my blood pressure shot through the roof while I was trying to get the hang of having to manipulate yarn with both hands.